Death in the Family
by FindMeInTheDark
Summary: Expanded Arrowverse/Very slow burn Olicity: Felicity fakes her death to protect the ones she loves from Ra's al Ghul and his assassins. When the search for her has finally been called off years later, she's got a laundry list of things to do including finding the Dark Archer, stopping an arsonist, and trying to assimilate back into her own life and the lives of Team Arrow.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my new Arrow story and I hope you give this one as much love as you give my other one, ****You're Banging My Bedroom Wall****. This one is heavier than that one and takes place in an adjacent Arrowverse that starts about a year and a half after the events of Season 2. **

**There's unexplainable magic and its unknown origins (just know that it exists, it's possible, and cannot be explained by any science), metahumans, Batman and fam, the Flash, League of Assassins, A.R.G.U.S., No Aliens, No Amazons, No Space Cops (i.e. Green Lanters of any sort), lots of action, some blood, a little torture. We're going to travel the globe some and hopefully you don't get too lost on the way. Time jumps around here some, but I'll always tell you WHEN and WHERE we currently are.**

**Felicity's got a past in this one, and it's one that she thought that she had buried properly.**

**Olicity is our endgame but it's going to be a rocky road to get there.**

**And as always, I don't own Arrow or DC Comics, just the plot and my OCs.**

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><p><strong>Death in the Family<strong>

**December, a couple weeks before Christmas**

**Gotham City, New Jersey – 2:05 PM EST**

"I'm standing outside Wayne Tower where five people have been standing on the roof of the building for nearly an hour now," Vicki Vale reported. She held back a shudder as a harsh wind blew across the cold streets of Gotham. It had just begun to snow and the sight was both beautiful and tragic considering the circumstances. "I've just been told that the names of these five people are Gabriella Talbot, August San Nicolas, Andrew O'Sullivan, Percy Smoak, and Felicity Smoak."

She glanced up behind her at the tall, imposing tower above her just as a scream issued from nearby. Vicki let out a horrified gasp as she watched as five bodies plummeted down to the ground like speeding bullets.

They hit the ground around the same time after what seemed like a lifetime, each with a sickening thud.

* * *

><p><strong>Starling City, California – 12:17 PM PST<strong>

The doors to the elevator on the executive floor opened and a young man wearing a red sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head rushed out. The man moved with both purpose and trepidation as he ignored the young woman sitting at the desk that had stood up and attempted to stop him as he shoved open the door to the office.

"You need to see this," he said without preamble, dropping the tablet in his hands onto the desk.

"Roy?" Oliver glanced over at his other partner and sometimes bodyguard Digg. The man just shrugged in confusion and shook his head. "What's wrong, Roy?"

Roy pushed his hood back and shook his head, unable to say the words to his mentor. "Just look," he insisted, pointing at the tablet aware that his hand was shaking.

With a heavy sigh Oliver picked the tablet up and turned it on. An article published a little less than an hour ago by the Gotham Gazette stared back at him on the screen. Oliver looked back up to stare at Roy, who was now pacing back and forth the length of his office.

"What is this? What am I supposed to be looking at, Roy? What's so important about the suicide of a group of people on the other side of the country? It's tragic and unfortunate, yes, but we couldn't have stopped it."

"Read it!" Roy yelled at him, roughly grabbing fistfuls of his hair and tugging anxiously. "Read it, Oliver, and you'll know why it's important!"

Oliver picked the tablet back up and read through the article. After a moment he understood and Oliver felt the dread build in the pit of his stomach, threatening to make him sick. The tablet slipped from his fingers and dropped to his desk.

"Oliver?" Digg stared between the two men, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What's going on?"

He closed his eyes and bowed his head, unable to hold it up anymore. "Felicity…" he whispered.

"What about her, Oliver?"

"She's dead!" Roy snapped, unable to take it any longer. "Felicity's dead! She jumped off of a building and killed herself!"

* * *

><p><strong>Blüdhaven, New Jersey – 10:49 PM EST<strong>

Felicity sat on the edge of the metal table beneath the wall of weapons and gear next to her brother and listened as the others spoke. She flashed the pen light in each of his blue eyes and then checked the back of his head where he had hit the pavement earlier.

"Thank you for helping us, Bruce," Gabriella murmured, her French accent thicker than usual. "You don't know how much this means to us. After what happened…" she trailed off.

"You're welcome, Gabriella," he replied. "If there's anything else that you need before you go, don't hesitate to ask. We will be glad to help you."

"Just make sure the story, the death certificates, _everything_, is wiped," Drew said. "If we can somehow return back to our regular lives in the future, none of us want our deaths to be questioned by people."

The sound of someone quickly typing on a keyboard suddenly became prominent in the warehouse. "Already on it," Tim announced, his fingers flying across the keys as he spoke. "Once a few months go by, all I have to do is hit a key and it'll be gone."

Felicity parted the hair on the back of Percy's head and lightly probed the thin scar that had formed where his skull had been cracked open. The teenager's work was always superb, she had to give him that. "Does this hurt?" she asked, pressing her fingers against the scar.

"No," he said. She nodded and then playfully ruffled his freshly dyed hair. It had been awhile since she had seen his natural brown and it was a nice change from his usual vibrant reds, blues and greens. Percy grinned and swatted her hands away. His expression turned serious a moment later and he looked his sister in the eyes. "We're going to be okay, right, Felicity? All of us?"

She nodded, gaze unwavering. "Yeah, we're going to be fine," she reassured him as she took his hand in hers and pulled him down off the table with her. "Now, c'mon, let's join the others."

They crossed the main room of the warehouse and joined the others where they stood standing around the main computer of Nightwing's main base of operations. Gabriella wiped a stray tear from beneath her eye with the back of her hand and turned to face the siblings as they approached. She gave Percy a small encouraging smile and squeezed his shoulder as he went to talk to Tim. Her green eyes slid across to stare at Felicity and she frowned disapprovingly.

Felicity looked away and crossed her arms defensively. "What?"

"You know what – why didn't you tell him? Don't you think he has a right to know the truth?" she questioned. "Considering the way the two of you feel about each other I think he does."

"He doesn't know how he feels," Felicity scoffed.

Gabriella pursed her lips and skeptically raised a brow at her. "I would say that it's the very opposite, that he _does_ know, Felicity. And I would know considering that _I am Love_," she stressed. "I _know _love. I can _feel_ it, _ma_ _chérie_, and it's there between the two of you. A beautiful, pure love…When I met him at Percy's graduation six months ago, before all of this _connerie_ happened, I _saw_ it in his _eyes_. _Felt_ it in his _touch_ when he shook my hand. _And it just radiated off of the man in waves._"

She closed her eyes and sighed dreamily, clutching both of her hands to her chest against her heart. "He loves you so much, Felicity, and the belief that you died is going to _kill_ him," Gabriella whispered, reaching out to softly caress the apple of Felicity's cheek.

Felicity sighed and leaned into her touch, suddenly reminded of when her mom would do the same thing. She felt the same love radiate off of Gabriella and she let it wash over her like a balm. After a moment she pulled away and shook the feeling off. "He's better off not knowing the truth. It's safer for him this way."

Gabriella frowned at her again. "Did you at least tell your mother?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course we did. And I made sure that she'll be well supported."

"Is she the only person he told too?"

Felicity nodded, pushing her own freshly dyed hair – it was as close as she was going to get to her real brunette color – back from her face. "Yeah," she sighed. "He told me that the only person important enough to know was Mom, so…" She shrugged helplessly.

Gabriella sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I'm going to miss you, Felicity," she whispered into her hair.

"Me too, Gabriella," she whispered back, her voice thick with emotion.

"This isn't goodbye, _hermanita_. More like I'll see you soon." Felicity pulled away enough to look at Auggie as he approached them. She gave him a watery smile and he wrapped the two women in his arms. After a moment she pulled away to give them a few minutes alone and went to stand next to Bruce.

"Thank you for helping us. It was a lot to ask of anyone."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the table behind him as he stared intently at Felicity. "We'll track one all down and notify you when it's safe to return. But I have to warn you that it may be years before he calls them off their search."

Felicity sighed softly and looked away at the main screen where Tim had pulled up the digital copies of their death certificates. "I just wish that it didn't have to come to this." She sighed again and removed her glasses before covering her eyes with her hand. "We're just lucky that we were able to get into contact with Klarion in such short notice, otherwise…" she trailed off and tensed at the sudden feeling of Bruce's hand on her shoulder before forcing herself to ignore her initial instinct to flip him clear across the room and relax. "It would have been a bloodbath – us against them with the people closest to us in the crossfires."

"It's going to be okay," he murmured softly, squeezing her shoulder.

"That's yet to be seen," a voice interjected flatly. Felicity pulled her hand away to look at Drew. She rolled her eyes to herself and frowned at him. Before she could say something, Dick appeared in the doorway still dressed in his Blüdhaven PD uniform.

He squared his shoulders and stepped into the room, his expression grim as he quickly scanned the room with keen blue eyes. His uniform was wrinkled and his dark hair was a disheveled mess after running his hands through it all day long. Dick huffed out a sigh and walked straight to his mentor and father-figure.

"It took a while but I got it done, Bruce. They think their families came to retrieve their bodies," he informed him.

Bruce nodded and pushed away from the table. All conversation ceased and everyone's attention shifted to him as he walked to the center of the room. "It's time," he said, taking a moment to meet each person's gaze.

Felicity nodded and she and her friends exchanged hugs as Bruce, Dick and Tim looked on. There were tears and promises to be careful were made in their last few moments together and Felicity couldn't hold back her sobs. Percy stood at her shoulder silent, avoiding everyone's gazes by focusing on the toe of his boot, and Felicity gripped his hand tightly in hers before squeezing. He sniffled quietly and bit his lip as he squeezed back in thanks.

"Remember: this isn't the end," Auggie reminded them. "We'll see each other again."

Without looking up Percy spoke. "I have _faith_ that we will," he whispered. Gabriella smiled softly and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

Drew stuck his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans and looked on to each of their faces, his expression grim and a little bit of something else. "I can be a real fucking pessimist sometimes, but I'm still _Hope_. I have hope that everything will turn out okay."

They fell silent and when they found that there was nothing to else say that hadn't already been said over the past week, they parted their separate ways.

It was a great sacrifice on their part, but it was a small price to pay to protect the people they love.

* * *

><p><strong>ma chérie – my dear<strong>

**connerie – bullshit **

**hermanita – little sister**

**I hope you liked it. Give me your theories as to what's going on with Felicity and her friends. I doubt anyone will get it…**

**Ask questions if you're confused and I'll answer them as much as I can without being spoilery.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you, guys, for the great response to the first chapter. Keep the comments coming—I love to hear what you guys think of the story.**

**We're jumping to the present now so keep close eye of the dates and times from here on. There's going to be a few flashbacks throughout the story and if you're not careful, you're going to get confused. There aren't any in this chapter but I'm just warning you now.**

**Ask questions if you do get confused—I don't bite.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow. Obviously.**

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><p><strong>Death in the Family<strong>

**Thirty-two months later. **

**Budapest, Hungary - July 26, 9:58 PM local time.**

"When can we leave? This place is fucking disgusting. I feel like I'm going to get a disease just standing here."

Sacrifice ignored him and sat with her back pressed against the wall so that she could see the door and lone window in the small room. Her black compound bow rested on the floor next to her and the matching quiver full of arrows was leaning against the wall next to it, innocent but deadly.

She silently watched her brother as he paced the length of the room, back and forth over and over again in a small circuit. Faith continued to curse and complain about the conditions of the building, his hands alternating between clenching into tight fists at his sides and grabbing at the long stands of his dark hair and tugging. She let him rant angrily for another few minutes before interrupting his little tirade.

"Give it a rest," she sighed, halfheartedly kicking out a leather boot-clad foot and tapping his shin lightly with her toe. He ignored her and resumed his pacing. "I know that this place isn't exactly at the top of your list, considering the circumstances, but it's the best I could find since the church got compromised."

He snorted derisively and shook his head. "This _place_," he sneered angrily, "is a fucking _brothel_, Felicity! A whore house! Have you seen the condition of this place? It looks like the roof is about to cave in at any moment and if you so much as step on these floors in the wrong place, you're guaranteed to break something in the fall."

_Such a drama queen,_ she thought, rolling her eyes to herself.

"Would you prefer to be in a cell instead?" Sacrifice asked. "We can go back to Tibet right now if you want." She made to get up, but he shot her a wild look full of panic and quickly shook his head.

"_NO!"_

"That's what I thought." She settled back on the floor and rested her head against the wall behind her. "Being here makes you uncomfortable, I know, but it's just until morning. As soon as the sun is up we can go, I promise." He nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but she held a hand up to silence him. Her eyes flickered upward and she listened.

Two people, one considerably lighter than the other, moving fast.

With her hand, she silently gestured once to the ceiling and then the window. He nodded and silently scooped up his katana. They quietly crept to the window and stood on either side of it, backs pressed against the wall, and waited with bated breath, their weapons at the ready.

An hour. One lousy hour before someone else tried to kill them.

Something told her that they should have just fled the city as soon as the church was set on fire with them inside.

A dark shadow materialized across the floor and grew, completely blocking out the moonlight that filtered in. Faith and Sacrifice shared a look and gripped their weapons tighter as a gloved hand reached down from above and slowly raised the window. A dark shape swooped into the room, followed by a smaller, brighter one.

Before the two figures could move, they had their weapons drawn and raised.

"Slowly turn around," Sacrifice ordered, her arm pulled taut as she pulled back on the bowstring.

They did as she said with little hesitance and upon catching sight of their faces the two the siblings lowered their weapons and relaxed from their defensive positions.

"Batman. Robin," she greeted with an audible sigh before pulling off her mask and replacing it with her trusty glasses, once again becoming Felicity Smoak.

The Dark Knight stepped forward with his current Boy Wonder sticking close to his side like a silent creeping shadow. His signature cowl with the pointed bat ears concealed all but his mouth and chin, hiding away his expression and whatever he was feeling at the moment. But the slight downturn of his lips told them everything and nothing at the same time.

Beside her Faith pushed his goggles up to rest on his forehead. "What are you doing here?" Percy asked, his brow wrinkled in concern.

"I could ask the same of you," Batman returned in his gravelly voice. "Why didn't London work out?"

Felicity sighed heavily at the mention of London. "There was somewhat of an _incident_ during our fourth month there," she told him glancing at her brother out of the corner of her eye.

Percy crossed his arms and scoffed at her words. "Pfft, _incident_. More like ambush," he corrected. "As soon as we walk into the apartment _this one's_," he gestures to the young Robin, "mother and aunt come smashing in through the back windows! We hit the deck when they started throwing their little knives at us and grabbed the first weapons could find and fought them off. Feliss basically _threw_ Nyssa back out the window and that's when Talia backed off. Her parting words were, um-" His nose scrunched up as he tried to remember.

"She said, 'Greetings from the Demon's Head,'" Felicity supplied, taking pity on him. "I got the feeling that neither of them knew why Ra's sent them there or who we were. They were only following orders."

"Grandfather found you, but how?" All eyes shot to look at the young Robin at the sound of his voice.

She frowned at his question thoughtfully. "We aren't sure, actually. We assume Ra's faceless guards did, but we never came across any of them."

"Anything else you want to know?" Percy asked the Dynamic Duo.

Batman's frown deepened as he silently contemplated the brother and sister. After a few moments he spoke. "Is it true that the two of you were held prisoner by Ra's for nearly a year?"

"Why bother asking a question you already know the answer to?" Felicity returned with a raised brow. She shared a look with her brother before addressing Batman again. "Why are you here?"

"Ra's called off his search for you and had the Nameless return to Nanda Parbat two weeks ago."

"Two _weeks_? Why are we just finding this out?" She glared up at Batman in disbelief as Percy sputtered beside her. Why would the man sit on information this important? "Did you at least tell the others? Drew? Auggie? Gabriella?" she asked.

"If I was able to track them down, I would have told them, Felicity. Andrew and August are no longer in Ireland or Spain. From what I was able to gather, they haven't been there for an extended period of time. Maybe a year or longer. The Talbot estate has acquired greater security measures making it an impenetrable fortress."

Felicity's mind raced as she took in the news. Something similar to what happened in London must have happened to them too. It was the only other explanation for why the guys would leave. The same could have been said about the Talbot's. Why else would Gabriella's parents feel the need add security beyond what they were already capable of?

But if Batman wasn't able to track them down, then how…

"Then how did you find us?" Percy asked, obviously thinking along the same lines as her. "We haven't stayed in the same place any longer than a few days for the past two months."

"At every fire or building explosion that has been caused by Joe Rigger in the last three weeks, a masked man and woman have been seen fleeing each site by the local authorities," Batman told them, voice flat and dripping of exasperation. "Is there a reason why the two of you are actively hunting an arsonist across Europe when you're supposed to be in hiding?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Felicity saw Percy fidget under the Bat's scrutinizing gaze. "Let's just say that I have somewhat of a dispute to settle with the firebug," she murmured darkly. Batman frowned at her but said nothing.

After a long, uncomfortable silence Percy clapped his hands together and noisily cleared his throat. "Well," he said, looking first at his sister and then at Batman and Robin, "looks like Feliss and I are going to have to locate our friends in whatever most likely remote and-or rundown part of the world they have decided to hole up in and tell them it's safe to finally go home. Batman, thank you for coming and telling us the good news. Demon child, continue to behave yourself for your father and your brothers." Robin gave him a Bat-worthy glare and scowled.

Felicity pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at her brother before turning to address Batman. "Thank you," she repeated, "You didn't have to help us back then, but you did anyway and we'll always be grateful."

Batman nodded. "You're welcome. If there's anything else you need help with, don't hesitate to ask."

The corner of her mouth curled up at that. "Well, there's one little thing you can help with…"

* * *

><p><strong>Las Vegas, Nevada<strong>

**Las Vegas Strip - August 1, 10:17 AM PST.**

Felicity pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose and scanned the area around her.

It was late morning so the sidewalks were filled with mostly tourists who were oohing and aahing over the glittering sights as they were in the day. Shuttles, double-decker buses, and all kinds of taxis and cars moved up and down the road, dropping off and picking up passengers at the hotels and casinos. Kiosks selling souvenirs and street performers dotted the sidewalk.

The sun was shining high in the sky without a cloud in sight and the temperatures were pushing 100, making a light sheen of sweat build on her forehead and causing her long brown hair stick to her skin in an uncomfortable way.

She detested it here for those reasons and more, but her mother called Las Vegas home and she loved her mother so she tolerated it.

"Are you sure coming here was a good idea, Feliss?" Percy murmured lowly, taking a long pull from the steaming coffee cup she handed him. He let out a strangled scream followed by a hiss and began to fan his tongue. "Hot, hot, hot!" he muttered, quickly dropping his coffee down on the table.

Felicity chuckled and sat down across from him at the little table they were able to secure on the outdoor patio of one of the coffee shops on the Strip. "I'm sure. We need the other two so that we can get passed all of the extra security at the Talbot estate. I can easily disable the cameras and everything else but we can't take out all of the guards on our own. I don't know where Gabriella's parents found all those guys, but if you haven't noticed, they're not exactly _normal_. We're faster and stronger than the average person, but still."

"Metahumans," he mumbled around the bite of muffin in his mouth, crumbs dropping everywhere.

She nodded, handing him a napkin. "Right. And in order to find Drew we need a mob connection which I can get here in Vegas," she reminded him, taking a sip of her own coffee.

"From an actual mobster?" he asked skeptically, wiping at his mouth.

"Yes."

"And this is the same mobster you put the fear of God in and later asked to take care of Mom and the laundry list of things you left while we were gone?" She nodded once. Percy let out a short laugh and shook his head to himself. "You make the weirdest friends, Felicity."

"I wouldn't exactly call him a _friend_. More like…an acquaintance who feels like he's forever indebted to me," she corrected.

He stared at her slack jawed before closing his mouth with an audible snap. "What the hell did you do get someone like that under your thumb?"

"I saved his daughter from some bad people when everyone else he sent failed." He just stared at her in disbelief but didn't say anything.

She sat back in her chair and crossed her legs as best she could. She and Percy had temporarily traded in their masks and leather boots, pants and jackets for civilian attire that was Vegas friendly and allowed them to blend in - a tight, dark purple halter dress and black pumps for her and a dark gray suit with no tie for him.

Felicity pulled her phone from her clutch and checked the time. She placed it back and stood. "Come on, it's time to go."

* * *

><p><strong>Bellagio Hotel and Casino - August 1, 11:22 AM PST.<strong>

"The Bellagio. _Of course._ Why am I not surprised? The Italian mob _must_ be in the Italian themed hotel and casino."

Felicity hit Percy with the back of her hand, making him wince and rub his chest. "Keep your voice down," she scolded, glaring at him. Did he _want_ a gun pointed at his head right now?

He shot her an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

Rolling her eyes, she continued toward the center of the casino floor with him one step behind at her shoulder. They paused near a blackjack table and Felicity quickly scanned the faces around them before pausing on a man wearing a black suit walking the floor discretely watching the people.

"There," Felicity said, pointing him out with an incline of her head.

Percy her line of sight and snorted. "Him? He looks like an extra that just walked straight off of the set of _The Godfather_."

They casually weaved their way around the card tables, slot machines, and people gambling their hard-earned money away until they were standing behind the man. Felicity plastered on a friendly expression and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but do you think you could help me?" she asked demurely, keeping her expression as open and innocent as possible. "I'm looking for someone and I'm not exactly sure where to find him. His name is Salvatore Ferraro."

The man who was obviously part of the casino's surveillance team started slightly as the name came out of her mouth. His gaze narrowed as he intently scrutinized first Felicity and then Percy. Her smile grew as she saw his hand slowly move to rest on his hip just inside his jacket where he definitely had a gun holstered. He thought they were a threat. That was good. They were talking to the right person.

"What do you want with Mr. Ferraro?" he asked, still eying them suspiciously.

Felicity's smile turned cool and the look in her eye became almost predatory as she stepped closer to the man. "Inform him that Miss Smoak would like to speak with him in private," she said, noting the flash of recognition in his dark eyes.

He nodded jerkily before stepping away and pulling out his cell phone. After a quick heated exchange in Italian, the man turned back to the pair and beckoned them to follow. "Come with me."

They crossed the casino floor, weaving back through the card tables and slot machines until they stopped at an elevator in the hotel. The doors opened a moment later to reveal another Godfather wannabe in a gray suit waiting on the inside. He nodded to the first one, barely acknowledging the Smoaks, as they boarded the elevator. Felicity suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and settled for giving Percy an encouraging smile. He returned it with an uncertain one of his own.

He was nervous, she could tell.

Sometimes she forgot that he was still just a kid when he asked her to make that sacrifice. Fourteen years old and just about to start high school. He had never had to deal with these types of people, never made the types of connections she or the others did. The only one he ever made was with Tim Drake at a WayneTech Expo back in Gotham while he was in college and that was by total accident apparently.

Sometimes she questioned what Love and Devotion were thinking when they approached him all those years ago, but then she remembered how outspoken he could be when it came to innocent people being oppressed by those stronger than them. She remembered that all he wanted was the strength to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

As they rode the elevator up, Felicity continued to watch her brother out of the corner of her eye. He was more nervous that she originally thought. His expression was neutral, giving nothing of his inner turmoil away, but it was the motion of his thumb sweeping across the pads of his fingers like he was flicking the sharp point of a knife that tipped her off.

His faith, his confidence, was wavering some.

_Maybe I should have come alone. Sent him on ahead to see Mom. _

Percy met her worried gaze and gave a slight shake of his head followed by the tightening of his jaw. _Don't send me away_, it said. She pursed her lips and dipped her head once.

The doors to the elevator opened just then and Goon 1 led the way down the hallway while Goon 2 trailed behind them. They stopped in front of a set of double doors and Goon 1 knocked on the door. It opened a second later to reveal yet another Godfather wannabe on the other side. He glanced at first Felicity and then Percy before ushering them inside the suite and leading them into the living area.

Felicity noted six armed men, the telltale bulge of a handgun strapped at their hip or shoulder underneath their suit jackets giving them away. Her gaze quickly scanned the suite, taking in the three closed doors and the two hallways that led to other parts of the hotel room.

"Ah, Miss Felicity!"

A wide smile spread across Felicity's face as her attention turned to the older man sitting on one of the plush cream sofas. He was older than Bruce by just a little more than a decade give or take a few months if her memory was correct, making him almost 57, and was one of the nicest, most polite mobsters that she had ever met. His thick black hair was gray at the temples and had receded some in the years since she had last seen him. The ever-present tan he had stood out against the crisp white of the dress shirt he wore.

Salvatore Ferraro stood at his full, imposing height of 6'3", waved off his men as they made to pat Felicity and Percy down, and crossed the room until he stood in front of Felicity. He grinned, delighted, and swooped down to kiss both of her cheeks before clasping her hand tightly between both of his warm ones. "You're as lovely and beautiful as always."

"Sal," she greeted warmly. "How have you been? How's your daughter?"

He chuckled heartily and patted her hand before releasing her. "I'm good, dear, and Sophia is happily living in Metropolis still, which she wouldn't be if it weren't for you," he answered. Salvatore's attention shifted and he stared at Percy in curiosity. "I see you've brought a friend with you."

Felicity smiled and wrapped her arm reassuringly around her brother's tense shoulders and drew him close as she made introductions. "Sal, this is my brother Percy. Percy, I'd like you to meet Salvatore Ferraro."

Percy gave him a polite, albeit a little bland, smile. "Hi."

The mobster's eyes widened slightly in surprise as his gaze flicked between the two. "I didn't know you had a sibling, dear! It's a pleasure to meet you, Percy." He frowned suddenly and quickly snapped his fingers twice, prompting one of his men to step forward. "How terribly rude of me! I haven't offered you anything to drink yet. Would either of you care for some water, coffee, tea? Perhaps a glass of wine? Or maybe a little champagne?"

"A bottle of water would be nice if it's not too much to ask," Felicity requested, keeping her smile polite.

Percy shook his head slightly. "Nothing for me," he said, keeping close to his sister's side.

Salvatore nodded and barked out an order in Italian to the goon that had stepped forward before turning back to them with a smile. "Let's sit." They settled on the sofas, Felicity and Percy on one while Salvatore sat across from them on the other with the glass coffee table separating them. "Now, is it safe to assume that this isn't purely a social call? If I remember correctly, you and I were in a similar position as this one when you asked me to take care of your mother and the few things on that list of yours in your absence just before all of that nasty faking your death business in Gotham."

Percy and Felicity shared a look at the last part. Oh, yes, they 'faked' their deaths alright.

A bottle of water was placed on the table in front of Felicity by the goon Salvatore had sent away and she gave him a smile of thanks as he handed a glass of red wine to his boss. "Do you mind clearing the room for me? This is something I don't want getting out and spreading like wildfire before we even start."

He nodded and gave another order in Italian. Almost immediately all of his men filed out of the suite into the hall. "Okay. Go ahead, dear."

Felicity leaned forward, letting her polite smile slip away as she stared Salvatore down. "I need you to vouch for me as one of your people. All you need to do is confirm my identity as one of your enforcers if someone comes around and starts asking questions."

He frowned for a moment in thought before slowly nodding. "Okay. That can be done, Felicity. Just give me a name and a little bit of a back story to go along with it and you'll be all set after we iron out all of the details."

The corners of Felicity's mouth ticked upward and she crossed her legs as she finally relaxed back into the soft cushions of the sofa. "Thank you, Sal."

* * *

><p><strong>Magicians' Alley - August 1, 4:15 PM PST.<strong>

Magicians' Alley was a high-end lounge near the Hard Rock Café that basically only had professional magician acts perform every night. According to the little pamphlet that was shoved into Felicity's hands the moment she walked through the doors by an apathetic man with a unibrow and a soul patch, the lounge had only been open for the past eighteen months, which explained why neither she or Percy had heard of the place before.

The entire place was giving off a strong vibe that they only ever felt when true magic, like the magic Klarion used on them all those months ago, was being used. And it was strong - almost as strong as the powerful aura that Klarion exuded causing his eyes to glow a startling bright blue at times. Felicity had only ever met one other magic user like him and according to the pamphlet it looked like she was about to perform tonight.

"Are you sure she works here and not at that other place?" Percy asked suddenly.

Felicity folded the pamphlet and tucked it into her clutch. "She works here. While you were waiting for the elevator, I checked with Sal and he said she's been waitressing here since day one. He offered her all kinds of jobs at all kinds of other places, but she insisted on working here," she told him.

He frowned at her and glanced around the room again. "What makes this place so special? It's almost like being at any of the hotels on the strip."

"You can't feel it, can you?" she asked, eyeing him speculatively.

Percy shook his head and stared at her in confusion through narrowed blue eyes. "Feel what, Felicity? I'm not feeling anything other than confusion at your cryptic little question."

An older blonde woman wearing the white collared shirt with the black vest on top with the matching black pants marking her as one of the waitresses suddenly rounded the corner of their booth, the fake plants that lined the top of the booth doing a good job hiding the two.

"Donna Smoak," Felicity called out just as the woman was about to walk passed them.

The blonde woman paused, hands on her hips, and slowly turned to face them. She pursed her lips and stared them down through hardened blue eyes. "Depends on who's asking."

Felicity smirked and leaned across the table. She beckoned her to come closer like she had a secret to tell and stage whispered, "Your kids, Mom."

A hand flew up to Donna's mouth as she fought back a sob once she really took a look at them. "Oh, my babies!" she cried as Percy and Felicity stood from the booth. "I've missed you so much!" Donna wrapped them both in her arms and squeezed the life out of them, pressing kiss after kiss on their faces, no doubt leaving a bright red lipstick stain or two.

"Mom," Percy wheezed, patting her awkwardly on the back. "I think you can let go now. People are starting to stare."

Donna squeezed them tightly to her one last time before releasing them. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you two are safe," she cooed as they slide into the booth.

Felicity held her mom's hand tightly in both of her own. "It's so good to see you again, Mom. We've missed you-so much."

"I've missed you too, baby. You two were never far from my thoughts. Every day I'd wonder if you were alright, if you were safe from those people," she whispered, looking between her two children. Donna sniffled into one of the napkins on the table. "And I wondered if I would ever see you two again, but now I don't have to anymore because you're here." She broke down into fresh tears and Percy rubbed a hand soothingly up and down her back.

"Don't cry, Mom. Me and Feliss are here, we're with you, and that's good—right?"

She nodded and gratefully took the fresh napkin Felicity offered her and used it to wipe her eyes. "It is, baby, it is. I'm just so happy that I get to hold the two of you in my arms again. And look at you two! I haven't seen this color on either of you since you were little," she remarked, fingering the long brown strands that hung in her son's eyes before sweeping them back.

"Are you back?" she asked suddenly, intently looking between her children's faces. "Are you finally _home_?"

Felicity slowly shook her head. "No, not officially. There are a few things we have to take care of first. But we're staying in Vegas for a couple days before we head to Starling and then Central," she added once she saw the happiness dim in her mom's eyes.

"Yeah, we've kind of been running around nonstop for a couple months now. Feliss and I thought that we could take a little time to breathe before we jumped back in again and what better way than to spend it with you, Mom?" Percy asked softly, wrapping his arm tight around her shoulders.

The lights suddenly dimmed and a spotlight came on and traveled around the room a couple times before finally stopping on the stage. Music started to play and the stage filled with an intense purple smoke.

"Oh, you two came just in time for the show," Donna whispered excitedly.

Percy tried to catch his sister's eye, but Felicity avoided his gaze, splitting her focus on their mom's excited expression and the smoke-filled stage. He frowned and glared at her through narrowed eyes. "What show? What am I missing here?"

"The main show with the house magician," Felicity supplied.

Donna grinned and patted his knee. "You know her, baby—you went to high school with her. Zatanna Zatara - she's Magicians' Alley's resident illusionist. Didn't you have a crush on her at one time?"

"Zee?" he choked out. Felicity snickered and he shot her a glare. "You knew she was performing! That's why you wanted to wait so long to come here."

"There's another reason. Zatanna is like Klarion, Percy," Felicity said, drawing his attention away from the stage. "She's not as powerful as him, but they're the same—she started showing signs around the same time Gabriella and Auggie approached you that summer."

"Are you positive?"

She nodded. "Very. Gabriella said she had seen her and her father playing with purple fire like snowballs."

"That's freaky," he breathed. "I'm so glad we can't do stuff like that or raise the dead or _move_ stuff with our minds."

Felicity let out a sharp laugh and shook her head slightly at his words. "Maybe if we were born with the same affinity as them, we could but we weren't. The other reason why I waited was because I wanted to see her using her powers other than to heavily maintain this place."

"She speaks her incantations backwards," Donna interjected as the purple smoke got thicker on the stage, creating a dark curtain that never traveled any further than the edge of the stage like an invisible force was holding it there. "From what I've seen, what she's able to do is so different from what you two can."

"That's because she has more power than us, Mom. We have only a fraction what she has and it presents itself differently for us," Felicity trailed off as she side-eyed the purple smoke. It was totally unnatural. Smoke just doesn't do that. It _shouldn't_ do that.

_But illusions do_, she thought.

"I'm so excited that you guys are here to see this," Donna gushed. "Zatanna has grown up so much since the last time either of you saw her. She's a great girl, Percy. Maybe when all is said and done, you can finally ask her out on a date like you've been fantasizing since you were fifteen."

"_Mom!"_ Percy hissed, the apples of his cheeks turning red with embarrassment. "That was ten years ago and it was just a crush. I don't like Zee that way anymore. She's just some girl I went to high school with. And don't you have work to do?" The smoke screen suddenly broke on stage followed by a loud, dramatic _poof_, drowning out whatever else he said, and a slender figure with long dark hair wearing a black tuxedo jacket with extra long tails over a white corset tucked into a pair of black shorts with fishnets encasing her long legs seemingly appeared out of thin air. Around her neck was a white satin bow and in her hands she held a black top hat and a classic black magician's wand.

Without looking away from the stage, Donna placed a hand over her son's mouth. "Shh and watch the show, baby." He frowned indignantly and removed her hand before relaxing back into the booth and watching Zatanna perform her show.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter just kind of set up some of the next few chapters' action, so sorry if it was kind of a let down for you.<strong>

**People guessed Lanterns, angels, gods/goddesses/deities last chapter and the answer is no on all accounts. Keep guessing-I want to see if anyone can get it. Or at least as close to it as possible.**

**A reviewer requested a list of non-Arrow/DC characters and their relationships to Felicity so here it is.**

**Percy Smoak (Felicity's younger brother. He's five years younger than her.), Gabriella Talbot, August San Nicolas, Andrew O'Sullivan are all Felicity's friends and allies from the past they all had to bury and put behind them after the last mission they went on together years before and they had to cement themselves in their civilian identities after it went wrong in a lot of ways. **

**All will be explained over time, promise.**

**No Oliver, I know, but he's in the next chapter! Yay! But he's going to be angry and broody. Boo.**

**Tell me what you think happened in that 32 month period; I'd love to know what you guys think happened to Felicity and her brother. I hinted at some of it if you caught it there.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks guys for all of the favorites and follows. But special thanks has to go to babyshan211 and the guest for taking the time to leave a review last chapter.**

**If you guys get confused, ask me questions and I'll answer them to the best of my ability without spoiling anything—I don't bite so don't be afraid to do so.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow, if I did it would be way different.**

* * *

><p><strong>Death in the Family<strong>

**Starling City, California**

**Felicity Smoak's House – August 4, 5:38 AM PST.**

Felicity easily vaulted over the fence that separated her house and the one directly behind it and landed in a low crouch. She paused there as Percy quickly followed her over. The sound of her heartbeat thundering in her ears was the only thing she could hear in the otherwise quiet early morning. She could only hope that after two and a half years her neighbors still kept the same habits on Saturday mornings and they were all still safely tucked in their beds, not getting ready for another day of work.

"What are we waiting for?" Percy hissed at her. She gave him a sharp look and pressed a finger to her lips. He frowned at her but said nothing else.

A minute passed and then another and another but they heard nothing to indicate that they'd been made. Felicity let out a quiet sigh of relief and stood. "Come on," she whispered. They made their way across the yard until they stood by the back door. Felicity pushed the hood of her leather jacket off her head and unzipped it before reaching into the inner pocket and digging out a set of keys. She flipped through them before finally finding the one she wanted and unlocking the door.

Felicity quickly closed and locked the door behind them as Percy dropped into one of the chairs set around her small kitchen table. He unclipped his katana from around his chest and pulled his goggles from his face, throwing both on the table, before resting his head on the smooth surface.

"Is it safe?" he mumbled into the table, his voice muffled, as she pulled back the curtain of the window over the sink.

"For now," she said. Felicity walked across her kitchen until she stood next to her brother and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, grab your things. Sal said the cleaning crew had just come by a few days before we got to Vegas, so the guest bedroom should be made up." Percy made no move to get up so shook him some. "Percy, get up and grab your things. You can sleep upstairs, not here at the table."

He mumbled something unintelligible, but stood and grabbed his sword and goggles before following her up the stairs. Felicity pushed open the door to the guest bedroom and scanned the room. The curtains were drawn, blocking out the early morning rays, and the closet door was open, revealing the extra blankets and pillows that she kept on the upper shelf. The bed had fresh linens on it and not a single speck of dust could be seen on any surface just as Sal had promised. Satisfied that no one was going to jump out at them, she stepped back from the doorway and let Percy pass.

He dropped his things on the dresser before dropping face first onto the bed, not bothering to change out of his leathers before going to sleep. "Goodnight, Feliss. Or, good morning, since it's six am. Or whatever." He curled his arms around one of the pillows and snuggled his head into it, eyes closed. "Forget it – you know what I mean. I'm going to sleep now."

Felicity gave him a smile he didn't see and closed the door behind her as she made her way down the hall to her own room. She opened the door and gave it the same sweep as she did Percy's room before closing it behind her.

Unstrapping her quiver from her back, she placed it on the floor next to the bed within reach if something happened and put her bow on the nightstand. It was folded up until it was just big enough to fit in the palm of her hand. A push of the button and it would be at full size in less than a second, ready for combat. The design was similar to the bow she had made for him, or rather _his_ was similar to _hers_, a fact that pained her every time she looked at it. But she didn't regret her decision to base his new bow off of her own because every time she looked at her own bow, it reminded her of the reasons why she and the others had done what they did in Gotham. Reminded her that Oliver was safe from the danger that was Ra's al Ghul.

She quickly changed out of her leather outfit and into something more comfortable before slipping beneath the cool sheets of her bed. The moment her head hit the pillow she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

**August 4, 1:13 PM PST.**

Felicity flexed her fingers over the keys before typing in more code.

"So, how do you know they haven't updated the system down there in the Arrowcave? It's been a few years, so you never know, Feliss," Percy asked, eating straight from the box of cereal he had found on top of the refrigerator. Sal had been nice enough to have the house stocked with food after their visit.

She shot him a look that clearly said that she thought he was stupid over the top of the screen and kept typing. A few keystrokes later she was in. "Three years ago I installed tech in my babies that wasn't released to the public until last month and I made sure that I made it very clear that they were to never mess with them unless it was mission related." Felicity turned the laptop so that he could see. "And as you can tell, I was able to get past my firewalls in less than two minutes, so they obviously didn't change anything while I was…you know—_gone._"

Percy shrugged and rounded the desk until he stood at her shoulder. "Just wanted to make sure, you know. So, who've they been tracking lately? I bet it's someone big, like the Joker or Scarecrow back in Gotham, since it _is_ Starling," he mused, peering at the screen.

Her eyes quickly flicked over the screen before pulling up the police files that were flagged and skimming them. A frown pulled at her mouth at the name she saw at the top of the file.

"It looks like they're going after Laurence Crock, aka Sportsmaster. Says here that he's been placing explosives all over Starling at all of the major sports arenas and trying to blow them up," Felicity read, her frown deepening as she scanned the long list of offenses he had been arrested for.

"What's wrong? Did you know the guy?"

She shook her head. "No, but he was a hockey player for the Starling City Stars. I only know that because Roy had been completely obsessed with him before he disappeared from the sports scene. I wonder what made him turn to a life of crime…" she trailed off.

"Don't know," Percy sighed, perching on the edge of the desk. "But he did and now the Arrow is going after him. So where's Sportsmaster going to hit next?"

Felicity's fingers flew over the keys as she typed in a few commands and within seconds a map of the city came up with a blinking red light hovering over Papp Stadium. She pointed at the screen. "There." She typed in a new command and pulled up a list of police reports tagged with Crock's name. "Looks like he's been trying to blow them all up during games."

"Something needs to be done about him," Percy muttered angrily, shoving away from the desk and pacing the length of Felicity's small home office. "He's threatening the lives of a whole bunch of innocent people!"

She nodded in agreement. "I know, but we can't do anything about that, not without revealing ourselves before we're ready to. Leave the heroing to Oliver and the others—_for now_," she stressed, seeing that he was gearing up to start arguing with her, "and focus on getting Drew, Auggie, and Gabriella back home."

"You're right…you're right." He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his long hair as he rocked back on his heels. "While we're on that topic, you told me that one of Drew's old friends from his Irish mob days back in Boston – the one you said would know where he was – relocated here to Starling a few years ago. What does he have to do with this?"

Felicity peered at him over the screen of the laptop and shook her head. "Nothing," she told him. "I need to get into the foundry. If you haven't noticed, none of my supplies or gear is in the house – it's all down there. And I want to be able to go there without too much trouble or being seen by the wrong person. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"So you're basically saying that you want to tell one of them so that they can help us."

"Basically."

His brow furrowed as he stared at her. "And tracking Sportsmaster gives us a chance to talk to the person you want to tell," he guessed, expression turning sarcastic with his next words. "And – I'm totally going out on a limb here – that person isn't going to be Oliver Queen, am I right?"

She gave him a thin smile. "That you are, little brother." Felicity pulled up the map of the city again and turned the computer so that he could see. "Do you see how the stadium is in a gridded area of the city with all of these businesses and apartment buildings around it?" she asked, pointing toward the area she was talking about. "This can work to our advantage if we do it right."

Percy threw a handful of cereal into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully as he stared at the map. "With all those alleyways, it would be easy to separate one of them if you got them to chase you."

Felicity grinned. "Exactly."

* * *

><p><strong>Papp Stadium – August 4, 7:28 PM PST.<strong>

As far as she could tell, every seat in Papp Stadium was filled with avid baseball fans if the constant drone of voices and cheers was any indication. The Starling City Rockets were playing the Gotham Knights and it was obvious that the home team had more supporters here tonight than the visitors. They all sounded so happy, completely oblivious to what was going to happen soon. She could only hope they stayed that way.

"What's the score?"

Felicity blinked and glanced at the scoreboard. "Three-zero, Rockets."

She heard Percy's groan of frustration through the comm link in her ear. "C'mon, Gotham, you can do better than that!"

"They're only in the third inning so they can still make it up," she reassured. Four men wearing hockey masks suddenly stepped out of the stands, catching her eye. One was blonde and obviously the leader from the way he kept gesturing at the other three. It had to be Crock.

Percy snorted. "Yeah, right. The Knights haven't won a game in over ten years."

She watched as they pulled out what looked like metal hockey sticks and a bag of hockey pucks to match from underneath the vacant seats a few rows up before disappearing through the exit. "Then why are you even supporting them if you're so sure they're going to lose? For all you know they could win tonight."

"It's the principle of the matter, Felicity. While I was going to Gotham University I learned to love the city and all that it had to offer—_despite all of its corruptness_," he grumbled under his breath before continuing at normal volume, "—And that includes the Knights. Even if they completely suck ass all of the time."

"I've spotted Sportsmaster." He fell silent at her words. "I'll let you know if something's gone wrong," Felicity told him before temporarily cutting communications between them and dropping down from the ledge she was perched on. She silently landed in crouch in a largely unpopulated area of the stands with the closest person to her five rows away. Quickly glancing around to make sure no one saw her, she took off down the exit, dodging the occasional security guard, and made her way to the locker rooms. The sounds of fighting touched her ears long before she got there, causing her to slow to a stop.

Felicity silently crept down the hall until she stood in the open doorway and peered in. The Arrow had his back to her single handedly fighting off the four men on his own while Arsenal dealt with the bomb. She watched as Sportsmaster and his minions dumped the bag of hockey pucks on the floor and start to hit them, sending them flying through the air and forcing the Arrow to dive and take cover.

Arsenal glanced over his shoulder toward his mentor and Felicity saw the slightest hesitation on his face, like he wanted to step in and help, before hardening in resolve. He turned back and continued to diffuse the bomb without another backward glance.

The Arrow drew his bow and shot a trick arrow at one of the masked men. A cable exploded from the tip of the arrowhead and wrapped around him, forcing him down to the ground in a tangled heap. Felicity's gaze flicked up just in time to see Sportsmaster drop his hockey stick and barrel toward the exit while the Arrow was preoccupied with his other two henchmen. She backed away from the doorway and scanned the hallway. A quick sweep told her that she didn't have time to make it back the way she came. There was only one place to go and that was up.

_What the hell_, she sighed to herself. Felicity shouldered her bow and planted her foot firmly on the wall. Using that momentum she lifted her body off the ground and quickly spread her arms and legs as she held her body close near the ceiling.

She watched as Sportsmaster fled from the locker room, leaving his men to deal with the Emerald Archer. It seemed that was no honor even among criminals.

After she was sure he was long gone, Felicity dropped back down to the ground. But her relief was short lived as one of Sportsmaster's men came running out. Letting out a silent sigh of exasperation, she sidestepped the man before he could spot her and stayed out of his periphery as he ran off after his boss.

"Got it," Arsenal shouted suddenly.

Felicity stepped back into the doorway just in time to see him pull the last wire of the bomb and fully disconnect it while the Arrow was still preoccupied with the last henchman. Before he could turn, Felicity quickly loaded her bow and pulled back on the bowstring before releasing. A split-second later the arrow imbedded itself in the wall less than an inch away from his head.

Arsenal tensed before snapping around to look for the shooter and spotted her standing there. The corners of her mouth ticked up into a taunting smile as she gave him a slight wave and took off into a sprint out of the stadium.

**August 4, 9:13 PM PST.**

Arsenal quickly took aim and drew his arm back before letting the arrow fly toward its intended target.

The figure twisted at the last second mid-sprint and caught the arrow before it struck them in the back. He watched as the person pushed the hood of her leather jacket back to reveal a woman with long brown hair. She wore a mask that concealed her eyes behind dark lenses and her lips, one side ticked up into a smirk, were painted a bright fuchsia pink, the only splash of color other than the black of her entire outfit. Even the quiver strapped to her back and the compound bow grasped tightly in her other hand were black.

She shook her head and waved the red arrow in her grasp almost tauntingly. "This is mine now, Arsenal," she teased before tucking it into her quiver and taking off into a sprint toward the end of the alley.

He growled angrily under his breath and took off after the woman. _Ha_, he laughed to himself as she ran toward the dead end, _I've got you now, bitch._

But Arsenal skidded to a halt and watched in shock as the woman kept running toward the wall. She leapt at the last second midstride and grabbed hold of the end of the fire escape ladder. Lithely, she swung her body up the side of the fire escape and climbed until she hit the roof and was out of sight within seconds.

Arsenal stood beneath the ladder and stared slackjawwed. It was impossible. No one could make a jump like that and grab onto the last rung. The ladder had been pulled all the way up and that was at least ten feet.

It was impossible.

But he had just seen that woman do it.

He shook his head and focused back on pursuing her. Without a second thought, he drew one of his trick arrows, aimed high, and let it fly. The grappling arrow locked onto the roof of the building next to him and after a quick tug of the cable, Arsenal pressed a button and he was moving skyward.

After a quick scan of the rooftops, he spotted the mysterious female archer moving north into downtown. Without a second thought he took off after her, jumping from rooftop to rooftop trying to catch up with her but she moved fast.

There was a crackling in his ear followed by the rough voice of the Arrow. "Arsenal. Where are you?"

"Heading north. I'm pursuing a lead on Sportsmaster," he reported just as the woman dropped down and out of sight over the ledge of one of the buildings ahead.

There was a pause before the Arrow spoke again. "Do you need backup?" he questioned.

Arsenal shook his head as he reached the same ledge as the woman. "No," he responded. His answer seemed to satisfy his partner because he didn't say anything more after that.

Movement below him caught his eye and Arsenal jumped onto the fire escape of the apartment building adjacent to him. He quickly made his way down to the ground and loaded his bow as he scanned the alleyway between the two buildings. Slowly, he walked toward the darkest part of the alley. The sudden sound of a can kicked across the ground caused him to pull his arm back and pivot on the spot.

A small gray cat with a blue collar around its neck slinked out from behind the dumpster. It meowed and stared pitifully up at Arsenal with wide yellow eyes.

He frowned and lowered his arm, placing the arrow back into his quiver. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?" he asked quietly, crouching low to scratch behind its ears. The cat purred and Arsenal smiled to himself.

"I should be the one asking that, Arsenal." He jumped to his feet at the sound of the voice and reached back to grab an arrow.

The young man loaded his bow and scanned the darkness before him. A glint of metal caught his eye and he let the arrow fly. The blade of a sword slashed out in the darkness and easily deflected the arrow with a _ping_, making it bounce off and hit the ground.

"Show yourself," he demanded.

A moment later the woman stepped out of the shadows followed by another hooded figure, this one armed with what looked like a samurai sword. The woman held her hand out as if to caution the second figure. A slow smile curved at her lips until it turned into a full blown grin. She turned to the person with her and at the slight dip of her chin the figure sheathed the sword on his back and pushed their hood away from their face to reveal a man with the same dark hair as the woman wearing a pair of high-tech goggles concealing his eyes.

"Who are you?"

The woman stepped forward, smile still in place, and pulled her mask away to reveal blue eyes. "You already know the answer to that question, Roy."

Roy stumbled backward as he stared at her in shock. He silently mouthed her name, unable to say it aloud.

"I'm surprised you were so keen on following me. Did you really think I had something to do with Laurence Crock and his latest attempt at blowing up one of Starling's sports arenas?" she continued.

"Y-y-you, you're supposed to be dead," he stuttered out, shakily pointing a finger in her direction. "You jumped off of Wayne Tower."

She sighed softly and crossed her arms. "I _was_ dead."

His brow furrowed in confusion as he continued to stare at her. "I don't understand."

"Then let us explain."

* * *

><p><strong>The Foundry – August 5, 12:07 AM PST.<strong>

Oliver angrily threw a hard jab at Diggle, who quickly blocked and countered with a hit of his own.

"Calm down, Oliver," Digg ordered, holding the younger man in a tight headlock. "Roy's fine. If he needed backup he would have called for us through his comm link."

The former castaway clenched his jaw and flipped Digg hard onto his back down on the training mat below them before stalking off to spar with the training dummy. "I _know_ that, Diggle," he growled. "But I can't afford to lose another member of this team."

The day that Roy had burst into his office was the day that his world as he knew it ended. The news that she was dead had rocked him to his core and skewed his perception. He thought he knew her, _all _of her, but it turned out that he didn't.

He asked himself everyday what could have possibly gone wrong in her life that she had to take matters into her own hands and take her own life the way she did.

Hours after the news of the five people who had jumped off Wayne Tower owned by the famous billionaire Bruce Wayne in Gotham City had hit, it spread like wildfire and became national news. And once people found out that one of the jumpers was the executive assistant of Oliver Queen, reporters and journalists from all over the country had swarmed Starling City asking for statements and interviews from the CEO of Queen Consolidated. But he virtually became a recluse in the wake of the news and was unable to be reached for comment.

Then came the video.

Some person with a Smartphone that had been standing outside Wayne Tower the day his world ended had uploaded a video of those five people jumping.

It happened so fast, but to Oliver it was a lifetime.

In the video those five people stepped off the ledge all at the same moment and they plummeted to the ground like speeding bullets. Their fall had lasted only minutes before they hit the sidewalk. Screams had erupted in the background followed by panic and the last semblances of Oliver's life had shattered.

In the months afterward he was unresponsive. He went to work at QC during the day, handled the club in the late afternoons, and went out as the Arrow at night. But when spoken to directly he gave one to two syllable responses and was rarely seen out in public unless his presence was absolutely necessary. Even then he would make his mandatory appearance and then provide an excuse to slip out almost as soon as he had arrived.

Roy had taken it upon himself to become his executive assistant after he had scared away the first five that had filled the position. The kid didn't know what he was doing, but he learned fast, over time learning to anticipate Oliver's needs and wants before he was asked to do something.

He wasn't as good as her, but he would do.

And if he didn't come back soon, Oliver was going to assume the worst.

Oliver paused his abuse of the training dummy at the sound of the security door unlocking and watched as Roy rushed down the stairs.

"Sorry," he rushed out, unclipping his quiver from his back. Roy turned so he was facing away from him and Digg as he changed out of his gear. "I chased the guy down for almost an hour before he tricked me and had me backed into a corner."

His jaw ticked angrily as he glared at the back of Roy's head. "Did you at least stop him?" he ground out through clenched teeth.

Roy paused as he put his bow back into the case and turned slightly to look over his shoulder, not quite meeting their eyes. "No," he said after a moment. "He got away."

"Why didn't you check in, Roy?"

The younger man froze as he pulled a fresh t-shirt over his head and avoided meeting his gaze. "My comm broke in the fight," he mumbled.

Oliver stalked forward and Digg was suddenly there between them. "That's a lie – your comm was turned off. Tell me the truth. What were you really doing?"

Roy quickly shook his head as he met Oliver's hard glare head on. "It doesn't matter, Oliver. I saw something and it freaked me out. Let's leave it at that."

* * *

><p><strong>Starling City Police Department – August 5, 12:25 AM PST.<strong>

Felicity sat on the ledge of the roof and stared off into the night, listening to the familiar sounds of the city. She removed her mask, placing it down on the ledge next to her as Percy settled down on her other side.

"Can we _really_ trust him not to say anything? I got the impression that if he was pressed hard enough, he'll sing like a canary," he asked after a moment, pushing his goggles up to rest on the top of his head.

She sighed and turned to face her brother. "We can trust Roy, Percy. No matter how hard Oliver will try to get him to say something he won't. From what he told us, it sounds like even if he did tell Oliver, he wouldn't believe him anyway."

Percy flipped the small knife in his hand over and over again as he stared at her. "He's going to react negatively when he learns the truth, I hope you know that," he warned. "There's no way he'll react the same way."

The corners of Felicity's mouth tightened and her shoulders stiffened. "I'm prepared for the fallout."

"You should have just told him, Felicity, damn the consequences."

"I already got the same speech from Love before we left for London," she snapped. "I don't need to hear it again. Let's just get everyone home before thinking about any of that."

He held his hands up, palms facing her. "Fine, fine," he sighed, "Just know that I have _faith_. Faith that everything is going to be okay. You'll finally get your happy ending after all of the sacrifices that you've had to make."

Felicity nodded and gave him a small smile. She hoped that he was right.

After some time she stood, placing her mask back over her eyes. "Come on," she sighed, "let's go home and get some rest."

Her brother nodded and put his goggles back in place before getting to his feet. "It's funny, we're home, but at the same time we're really not," he mused on a yawn. Felicity nodded. Once they found the others, then they could really say that they were home again.

Felicity suddenly tensed and grabbed Percy's wrist before he could turn. He met her gaze and tilted his head back slightly, indicating behind them. She dipped her head once in confirmation. They weren't alone anymore.

"Slowly turn around and I'll consider not hurting you," a voice ordered. They did as they were told and came face to face with a masked blonde woman wearing a cropped leather jacket. She had a thin, metal bō staff clutched tightly in her hand at the ready.

A slow smile crept its way onto Felicity's face as she took in the newcomer. "Black Canary."

**I hinted some more at what happened to make Felicity and her friends to commit suicide back in Gotham and you got to see some of what happened through Oliver's eyes too.**

**I'd love to hear what you guys thought of the chapter—reading your reviews literally make me squeal when I get them and they tell me if I'm doing this right. And if my idea isn't as crazy as I think it is.**

**If haven't already noticed, I updated my other Arrow fic **_**You're Banging My Bedroom Wall**_**, so check that out too if you want.**


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